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Tuesday 15 February 2022
New Castle Man Sentenced for Role in Drug Trafficking OrganizationRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH - A resident of New Castle, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 30 months’ imprisonment followed by six years of supervised release on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Darnell Latham, 52, of New Castle, Pennsylvania.
According to the information presented to the court, the Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating a cocaine and fentanyl trafficking organization that operated throughout the United States, including Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico. Beginning in December of 2019 and continuing through August of 2020, the DEA received authorization to conduct a Title III wiretap investigation into the organization. Latham was intercepted communicating with his codefendant and coconspirator discussing the distribution of cocaine. In addition to the intercepted communications, agents seized cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, ecstasy, marijuana, firearms, and bulk United States Currency from members of the organization.
Assistant United States Attorney Mark V. Gurzo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
United States Attorney Chung commended the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) in Pittsburgh, PA; the DEA, Columbus, OH; DEA, Harrisburg, PA; Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Pittsburgh, PA; HSI, Orlando, FL; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations; United States Postal Service, Columbus, Ohio; Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General; Lawrence County Drug Task Force – Special Investigations Unit; and New Castle Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Latham.
This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.
Native of Dominican Republic Arrested at the Cyril E. King Airport for Making Materially False Statements to Government AgentsRead the Press Release
St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands – A citizen of the Dominican Republic was arrested on February 11, 2022, at the Cyril E. King Airport on a criminal charge based on his provision of false information to agents of Customs and Boarder Protection.
According to court documents, Luis Miguel Lopez, 28, presented himself to Customs and Border Protection for inspection at the Cyril E. King Airport. There, he presented what purported to be a Puerto Rican driver’s license bearing the name of another person and repeatedly told agents that he was a United States citizen born in Puerto Rico. An inspection of his baggage revealed a Social Security card and birth certificate bearing the same false name appearing on the driver’s license he had presented to Customs and Border Protection officials. Records checks revealed the documents were issued to others – not to a person with the name being used by Luis Miguel Lopez. When confronted with this information, Luis Miguel Lopez admitted to agents that he is a citizen of the Dominican Republic and provided his true name.
Luis Miguel Lopez is charged with a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2) for making a material false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch of the United States Government. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 5 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court for Illegally Possessing a ShotgunRead the Press Release
A Minnesota man who possessed a 12-gauge shot gun while using marijuana and being a convicted felon, pled guilty on February 10, 2022, in federal court in Sioux City. Michael Anthony Hangman, age 36, from Worthington, MN, was convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
At the plea hearing, Hangman admitted to possessing a 12-gauge shotgun while being an unlawful user of marijuana and having prior felony convictions. Hangman led law enforcement on a police chase beginning in Minnesota and ending in Iowa. Hangman was traveling at speeds reaching 120 mph. Hangman’s shotgun was modified or cut to approximately 19 inches and spray painted black. Officers recovered marijuana, a digital scale with meth residue on it, and baggies from Hangman’s car. Hangman was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his drug use and prior felony convictions in the State of Minnesota for Terroristic Threats-Reckless Disregard, and Drugs-Storing Meth Paraphernalia in the Presence of Child or Vulnerable Adult.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hangman remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Hangman faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and Mikala Steenholdt-Purdy and was investigated by Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Osceola County Attorney’s Office, Nobles County Sheriff’s Office (MN), Buffalo Police Department (MN), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms,
Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations Crime Laboratory, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4003.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Mexican Businessman Admits to Brokering Spyware Used to Monitor Political and Business RivalsRead the Press Release
Assistant U. S. Attorney Sabrina L. Fève (619) 546-6786
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – February 15, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Mexican businessman Carlos Guerrero pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he conspired to sell and use hacking tools manufactured by private companies in Italy, Israel and elsewhere.
According to court documents, Guerrero owned and operated a consortium of U.S. and Mexican companies and brokered sales of interception and surveillance tools to Mexican government clients, as well as private and commercial customers. In 2014 and 2015, Guerrero worked primarily with an Italian company that sold hacking devices and geolocation tools. Through relationships developed at Guerrero’s direction, Guerrero’s company subsequently brokered the sale of interception devices and hacking services manufactured by Israeli and other companies.
In 2016 and 2017, for example, Guerrero marketed signal jammers, Wi-Fi interception tools, IMSI catchers, and the ability to hack WhatsApp messages to prospective clients in the U.S. and Mexico. Guerrero admitted to knowing that, in some cases, his Mexican government clients intended to use the interception equipment for political purposes, rather than for legitimate law enforcement purposes. In one case, he knowingly arranged for a Mexican mayor to gain unauthorized access to a political rival’s Twitter, Hotmail, and iCloud accounts. Guerrero also admitted that the hacking tools and technologies he brokered would be used for commercial and personal purposes by private clients.
For example, Guerrero himself used the equipment to intercept the phone calls of a U.S. rival while the rival was in both Southern California and Mexico, and Guerrero’s company arranged for a large Mexican business to intercept the phone and email accounts of a Florida-based sales representative in exchange for approximately $25,000.
“Today’s guilty plea helps stem the proliferation of digital tools used for repression and advances the digital security of both U.S. and Mexican citizens,” stated U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. “This Office is committed to disrupting malicious cyber activities and mitigating unlawful surveillance.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team and Homeland Security Investigations for their excellent work on this case.
“With this guilty plea, we are sending a clear message that companies and individuals who unlawfully violate privacy rights will not be tolerated and they will be held accountable,” said Chad Plantz, Special Agent in Charge for HSI San Diego. “The world we live in is increasingly interconnected by technology meant to improve our lives, but as seen in this case, this same technology can be acquired by bad actors with harmful intentions. HSI and our law enforcement partners will remain committed to bringing to justice those who attempt to manipulate these platforms for nefarious purposes.”
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance provided by the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22cr0280-JLS
Carlos Guerrero Age: 48 Chula Vista, CA and Tijuana, Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 371 (to violate 18 U.S.C. §§ 2511(1)(a) and 2512(1)(b))
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations
Martinsburg woman admits to role in drug trafficking enterpriseRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Bonnie Lou Breeden, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to her role in a drug distribution enterprise, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Breeden, 53, pleaded guilty today to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine Base, and Cocaine Hydrochloride.” Breeden admitted to working with others in a drug distribution operation in Berkeley County and elsewhere from June 2019 to October 2020.Breeden faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; the Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the West Virginia Air National Guard investigated. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office assisted.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Find the related case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/22-people-indicted-drug-trafficking-enterprise-spanned-several-states
Martinsburg woman admits to role in drug trafficking and firearms conspiracyRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jennifer Dick, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to a firearms charge, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Dick, 46, pleaded guilty today to one count of “False Statement During Purchase of Firearm.” Dick admitted to falsifying a form to purchase a firearm for someone else in March 2020 in Berkeley County.
Dick faces up to 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; U.S. Marshals Service; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives; the West Virginia Air National Guard; the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; the Harpers Ferry Police Department, and the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C. investigated. The EPDTF consists of the West Virginia State Police, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Ranson Police Department, the Charles Town Police Department, and the Martinsburg Police Department.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Martinsburg man admits to role in drug trafficking enterpriseRead the Press Release
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Kevin Gene Barron, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, has admitted to his role in a drug distribution enterprise, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced.
Barron, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and to Distribute Heroin, Fentanyl, Cocaine Base, and Cocaine Hydrochloride.” Barron admitted to working with others in a drug distribution operation in Berkeley County and elsewhere from June 2019 to October 2020.Barron faces up to 20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI; the Department of Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the West Virginia State Police; the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; and the West Virginia Air National Guard investigated. The Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Kent County Sheriff’s Office assisted.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble presided.
Find the related case here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndwv/pr/22-people-indicted-drug-trafficking-enterprise-spanned-several-states
Madison Man Admits Defrauding InvestorsRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that BRIAN HUGHES, 57, of Madison, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to multiple offenses stemming from a scheme to defraud investors of two companies.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2015, Hughes founded Handcrafted Brands, LLC (“HCB”), for the purpose of raising money to purchase Salute American Vodka, (“Salute”) an alcoholic beverage company. Hughes subsequently solicited and received funds from dozens of investors ostensibly for the purchase and subsequent development of Salute. Hughes used the first investment he received, in the amount $150,000, to pay his taxes and his American Express credit card expenses. Although HCB purchased Salute in June 2016 for $450,000, Hughes continued to solicit investments from investors and used hundreds of thousands dollars in invested funds for expenses unrelated to Salute. He also used funds to pay off an earlier investor under the guise of a return on a prior investment made by the earlier investor, which is commonly known as a “lulling” payment.
Hughes also solicited investments purportedly on behalf of another company, which is identified in court documents as “Company-1.” In fact, Hughes had no official relationship with Company-1 and could not raise capital on its behalf. Hughes spent the money he received for this investment on personal expenses, to pay earlier investors, and on business related to Salute.
Finally, Hughes evaded the assessment of his tax obligations for the 2015 through 2018 tax years by substantially underreporting his income to the IRS, resulting in a tax loss of $470,880.
Hughes pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, one count of making an illegal monetary transaction, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, and one count of tax evasion, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. A sentencing date is not scheduled.
Hughes has agreed to pay full restitution to the IRS and to all investors in both HCB and Company-1 in the total amount of $2,991,880.
Hughes was arrested on January 14, 2021. He is released on a $250,000 bond pending sentencing, which is not scheduled.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.
MS-13 Member Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison for RICO Conspiracy and Murder of TeenagerRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A member of MS-13 was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for RICO conspiracy and his participation in the July 2018 murder of a teenage boy in Lynn, who suffered at least 32 sharp force trauma wounds consistent with being stabbed repeatedly, along with blunt force injuries to the head.
Jonathan Tercero Yanes, a/k/a “Desalmado,” 24, a Salvadoran national, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to 33 years in prison and five years of supervised release. In May 2021, Tercero Yanes pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, also known as RICO conspiracy, on behalf of the MS-13 gang. As part of his plea, Tercero Yanes also admitted to participating in the 2018 murder of a teenager, who was murdered with extreme atrocity and cruelty, and with deliberate premeditation, in violation of Massachusetts law.
MS-13, or La Mara Salvatrucha, is a transnational street gang operating in Massachusetts and numerous other states, as well as countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. MS-13 gang members often commit acts of extreme violence against suspected rivals, those suspected of cooperating with law enforcement, and others who the gang views as a threat. In recent years, dozens of MS-13 members have been convicted of RICO conspiracy and other serious felonies in the District of Massachusetts. MS-13 is organized into “cliques” or branches operating in local territories. Tercero Yanes belonged to the “Sykos Locos Salvatrucha” clique of MS-13, which operated in the cities of Lynn, Chelsea and other parts of Massachusetts.
In November 2018, Tercero Yanes and five other MS-13 members of the Sykos clique were indicted following an investigation into the murder of a teenage boy, whose body was found in a park in Lynn on Aug. 2, 2018. The six defendants in this case included five participants in the murder, as well as one longstanding member of the Sykos clique. In a related case, the government charged a juvenile co-conspirator who was the sixth person involved in the murder.
The evidence in this case, which included a recording of one of Tercero Yanes’ co-defendants describing the murder in graphic detail, revealed that Tercero Yanes and five other MS-13 gang members murdered the victim based on their mistaken belief that he may have been assisting law enforcement.
On July 30, 2018, the gang members lured the victim to a playground and at least four of them were armed with knives. The group pretended to be friendly with the unsuspecting victim and took him to a wooded area of the park where they surrounded the victim and repeatedly stabbed him to death. At least four of the six assailants, including Tercero Yanes, stabbed the victim, while two others assisted at the scene. After killing the victim, the gang members left his body in the wooded area of the public park. An autopsy revealed that the victim suffered at least 32 sharp force trauma wounds consistent with being stabbed repeatedly, along with blunt force injuries to the head.
The investigation also revealed that Tercero Yanes had been stopped by immigration authorities on at least two occasions prior to his participation in the July 2018 murder, including efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to have him detained in immigration custody in November 2017 based on a belief that Tercero Yanes posed a threat to public safety. Tercero Yanes was released on bond from immigration custody in November 2017.
All six defendants indicted in this case, along with the juvenile charged in the related case, have pleaded guilty. Tercero Yanes is the second defendant to be sentenced in the case. Yesterday, Feb. 14, 2022, Erick Lopez Flores a/k/a Mayimbu was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Henri Salvador Gutierrez, a/k/a “Perverso,” is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 16, 2022 for RICO conspiracy and his participation in the July 2018 murder, as well as his participation in a December 2016 murder in East Boston. Djavier Duggins, a/k/a “Haze,” is scheduled to be sentenced for RICO conspiracy on Feb. 17, 2022. Sentencing hearings for the two remaining co-defendants, Eliseo Vaquerano Canas a/k/a “Peligroso” and Marlos Reyes a/k/a “Silencio” have not yet been scheduled by the Court.
First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett; Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden; Acting Boston Police Commissioner Gregory Long; and Lynn Police Chief Christopher Reddy made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kunal Pasricha and Kaitlin O’Donnell of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Leader of a Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 136 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
The leader of a drug trafficking organization that distributed cocaine and methamphetamine to buyers in Tulsa was sentenced Friday in federal court.
“Serial drug distributor Moises Gaeta will serve more than 11 years in federal prison for distributing pounds of methamphetamine in Tulsa,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “Distributors like Gaeta have little regard for the lives lost to addiction and violence resulting from their criminal operations. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate, disrupt, and prosecute criminal networks who pose a threat to communities in the Northern District of Oklahoma.”
U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Moises Gaeta, 38, of Tulsa, to 136 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Gaeta previously pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy. Gaeta admitted that beginning as early as January 2019 and continuing through August 2020, he knowingly conspired with others to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 28 grams or more of cocaine. Gaeta supplied and distributed the drugs to third parties.
Along with Gaeta, codefendants Jose Alfredo Rivas, Jose Luis Loya-Saenz, Rhonda Sanders and Amanda Marie Wells all pleaded guilty for their roles in the distribution ring. Rivas was sentenced to 84 months in prison; Loya-Saenz received 70 months in prison; Sanders received 27 months in prison; and Wells received three years of probation.
This case was prosecuted as part of Operation Gopher Broke, an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn McCormick and the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
In 2009, Gaeta was sentenced in a separate case to 324 months in federal prison for distributing narcotics and firearms. In 2018, Gaeta filed for and was granted a motion for early release from prison. Upon his release in September 2018, Gaeta returned to Tulsa, established contact with former criminal associates and began distributing methamphetamine.
The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn McCormick prosecuted the case.
Lawton Gang Member Sentenced to Serve Six Years in Federal Prison for Illegal Possession of a FirearmRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – Yesterday, JATARVIS MANDEZ PRATT, 26, of Lawton, was sentenced to serve 72 months in federal prison for being a convicted felon in illegal possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester.
On February 18, 2021, a federal grand jury returned a one-count Indictment that alleged illegal possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony. On June 14, 2021, Pratt plead guilty to the Indictment. Federal law prohibits possession of firearms or ammunition by convicted felons under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1).
Public records reflect that, on September 4, 2020, Lawton Police Department officers noticed Pratt driving a vehicle. Knowing that Pratt did not have a valid driver’s license, officers initiated a traffic stop. Pratt stopped and exited the vehicle then fled the scene on foot. Officers chased Pratt though an apartment complex, where he was eventually caught and taken into custody. Pratt also verified his status as a member of a street gang during the encounter. A loaded pistol was later found during an inventory search of Pratt’s vehicle.
Public records further reflect that Pratt had multiple prior felony convictions. These convictions in Comanche County District Court, case number CF-14-245, include using an offensive weapon during the commission of a felony, feloniously pointing a firearm at another, burglary in the first degree, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was released from Oklahoma state prison in May 2020 after serving a prison term for these felony offenses.
On February 14, 2022, Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti sentenced Pratt to serve 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
This case is the result of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Lawton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Mary E. Walters and Stanley J. West prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws.
Reference is made to public filings for more information.
Kilogram Cocaine Trafficker Convicted at TrialRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Damian Sierra (43, Port St. Lucie) guilty of possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute it. Sierra faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, and up to 40 years, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Sierra had been indicted on January 20, 2022.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, agents conducting surveillance observed Sierra drive to a location, get out of his car with a Christmas gift bag, and meet with another person. After Sierra left the location, deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office pulled him over for a tint violation on his vehicle. Inside the car, agents recovered a Christmas gift bag containing a kilogram of cocaine wrapped in tape, personal items belonging to Sierra, and a drug ledger. At the time of the incident, the drugs found with Sierra had a wholesale value of approximately $40,000.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Callan L. Albritton.
Killeen Hotel to Pay Damages to Disabled Veteran with Service Dog for Denying AccessRead the Press Release
WACO – U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas announced today that the United States has reached an agreement with the owners and managers of Executive Inn & Suites, a hotel in Killeen, Texas, to resolve allegations they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying equal access to individuals with disabilities who use service dogs.
The settlement resolves allegations initially brought by a disabled veteran who utilizes a service animal and wheelchair due to an amputation of his left leg. The veteran alleged that upon learning that the veteran was accompanied by a service dog the hotel desk clerk refused to honor his reservation because the hotel owner did not allow any type of dog. Hotel staff insisted that the veteran leave, called the local police department to escort the veteran off hotel property, and refused to refund his room rental fee.
The ADA generally requires public accommodations to provide access to individuals with disabilities who use service animals. Under the ADA, public accommodations must generally modify their policies, practices or procedures – such as a no-pet policy – to permit the use of a service animal by a person with a disability. A service dog generally may go wherever the public is allowed to go, and a public accommodation may not require documentation about the service dog.
“Individuals with disabilities, including veterans who have sacrificed for our country, have a right under federal law to the equal enjoyment of public accommodations,” said U.S. Attorney Hoff. “Our office is committed to ensuring that our veterans enjoy equal access to public accommodations, such as restaurants, hotels, and shops.”
Under the agreement, J&J Executive Suites LLC, Kyung Sang Lee and Gaesun Lee will ensure that the hotel adopts and implements a service dog policy; provides training on the service dog policy to employees and managers; and posts the service dog policy at their facilities and in their advertising. They will also pay money damages to the veteran as compensation for the effects of the discrimination and the harm he endured as a result of their actions.
People interested in finding out more about the ADA or this settlement agreement can call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD) or access the ADA website at http://www.ada.gov.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Liane Noble and Thomas Parnham represented the United States in this matter.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
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Justice Department Issues Guidance on Ballot Drop Box Accessibility Requirements Under the Americans with Disabilities ActRead the Press Release
The Justice Department announced today it has issued guidance under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on how to ensure that ballot drop boxes are accessible to voters with disabilities. The publication, “Ballot Drop Box Accessibility, the Americans with Disabilities Act,” is intended to help election officials understand the ADA’s requirements, including the physical accessibility standards applicable to ballot drop boxes, and for voters with disabilities to understand their rights under federal law.
“The right to vote is the fundamental right upon which our democracy is built,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “For too long in our history, many voters with disabilities have faced barriers in exercising their voting rights. Many of these barriers continue even today, including physical barriers that prevent them from entering polling places or accessing a ballot drop box. The ADA requires election officials to select and provide accessible ballot drop box locations so that voters with disabilities can have the same voting opportunities as other voters. The Justice Department is fully committed to vigorous enforcement of the ADA to ensure that voters with disabilities no longer face discrimination in the election process.”
The publication covers the elements and features of a ballot drop box that election officials should consider meeting the ADA’s accessibility requirements. The publication discusses the requirements for an accessible route to a ballot drop box, such as a level walkway without gaps and steps. It also discusses accessibility features of a ballot drop box such as a handle or lever that can be operated with one hand and without tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist. The guidance includes a checklist of the accessibility standards used to assess a ballot drop box.
The ballot drop box guidance is intended to be used together with the department’s “ADA Checklist for Polling Places,” a guidance document that discusses local governments’ obligations under the ADA to provide polling places that are physically accessible to voters with disabilities. The ADA Checklist for Polling Places covers the accessibility requirements for features that may be present at a ballot drop box location, such as parking, passenger drop off areas and building entrances.
The Ballot Drop Box Accessibility publication may be found at ADA.gov homepage; the ADA Checklist for Polling Places publication may be found at ADA Checklist for Polling Places. Those interested in learning more about the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access its ADA website at www.ada.gov. ADA complaints may be filed online at Step 1: Contact - Contact the Civil Rights Division | Department of Justice. Information about the department’s enforcement of federal civil and criminal laws related to voting may be found at Voting | Department of Justice.
Irondale Missouri man sentenced to federal prison for producing child pornographyRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – United States District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark sentenced Andrew Hotchkiss to 27.5 years in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime on supervised release for the production of child pornography. Hotchkiss previously pleaded guilty in November 2021.
Between the dates of March 1, 2019, and May 13, 2019, in St. Francois County, Missouri, Hotchkiss sexually abused the victim, who was six years of age at the time. Hotchkiss used his cellular telephone to video record and produce images of his sexual abuse of the victim.
Hotchkiss distributed the images and videos of his sexual abuse of the minor via the internet to others including a resident of the State of Oregon. On May 13, 2019, law enforcement officers with the Oregon State Police located the above-reference images and videos on a cellular telephone belonging to the Oregon resident who was in police custody after attempting to meet an eleven-year-old for sexual contact. It was the Oregon State Police investigation and their recovery of the images and videos produced by Hotchkiss that initiated the investigation that gave rise to the charges against Hotchkiss in this case.
This case was a joint effort between the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oregon State Police.
Hillsboro Man Sentenced to 120 Months in Prison for Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A Hillsboro, Illinois, man, Andrew Collins, 32, of the 200 Block of Main Street, was sentenced on February 14, 2022, to 120 months of imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release for enticement of a minor. The sentencing hearing was held before U.S. District Court Judge Sue E. Myerscough,
The defendant pleaded guilty on October 14, 2021. At that time, the government presented evidence that online chats between Collins and the sixteen-year-old minor indicated that Collins persuaded the minor to have sex with him by offering toy gifts, and promises of weekends together, nude massages, and permanently living together in the future.
For the offense of enticement of a minor, the statutory penalties are not less than ten years and up to life in prison, not less than five years and up to a life term of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
“We appreciate the work of law enforcement in identifying this predatory online behavior and bringing the perpetrator to justice,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Sierra Senor-Moore, who represented the government in the matter.
Agencies participating in the investigation include the United States Secret Service and Central and Southern Illinois Financial and Cyber Crimes Task Force.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Hattiesburg Felon Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for Possession of AmmunitionRead the Press Release
Hattiesburg, Miss. – A Hattiesburg man was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett to a combined total of 139 months in prison for being a felon in possession of ammunition while on federal supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Kurt Thielhorn of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The sentence also included a fine of $10,000 and a term of three years of supervised release following his release from confinement.
According to court documents, Jakobe McCray Woullard, also known as BadAzz, 21, possessed a single round of ammunition in his pocket on June 13, 2021, following an earlier federal felony conviction. Woullard had previously been convicted of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and was on federal supervised release at the time he committed the new offense. A review of Woullard’s social media accounts showed he was also in possession of multiple firearms in the three-month period since his release from imprisonment following his original federal conviction. Woullard was also involved in an attack on another inmate while pending sentencing in the immediate case.
Woullard was sentenced to 115 months of confinement on his new offense and 24 months for violating his federal supervised release. The two terms of imprisonment are set to run consecutive to one another for a total of 139 months of confinement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Hattiesburg Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew W. Eichner prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Hartford Man Sentenced for Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALLEN EVANS, 35, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 16 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 23, 2020, Hartford Police stopped a car in which Evans was a passenger. Evans was arrested after a search of his person revealed a loaded Taurus Model 85 “.38 Special” handgun, and a search of the vehicle revealed additional ammunition.
At the time of his arrest, Evans was on state probation following a conviction in 2018 for possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle.
It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce.
Evans has been in custody since March 12, 2021. He pleaded guilty on September 21.
This matter was investigated by the Hartford Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Gun Trafficker Utilizing Amtrak to Move Guns up the ‘Iron Pipeline’ Sentenced to over Two Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA –United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced that Junious Flemming, 29, of Trenton, NJ, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison, and three years of supervised release by United States District Judge Nitza I. Quiñones-Alejandro for trafficking 40 semi-automatic firearms from North Carolina into Philadelphia and New Jersey via Amtrak’s Philadelphia 30th Street Station.
In September 2021, the defendant pleaded guilty to charges including one count of criminal conspiracy and three counts of transporting firearms on a common carrier. From October 2020 through March 2021, on at least three separate occasions, Flemming paid for his co-conspirators to purchase firearms in North Carolina and then transport them by train to Philadelphia. Many of the semi-automatic firearms were subsequently trafficked into New Jersey by the defendant. The trafficking only stopped after federal agents executed a search warrant at 30th Street Station on March 9, 2021, discovered 10 semi-automatic firearms in the luggage of the defendant’s co-conspirator, and then arrested Flemming as he picked up his co-conspirator from the station.
“When I announced the All Hands On Deck initiative in April 2021, I vowed that our Office would do all we could to stop the violence ravaging our city and support the Philadelphia Police Department in its work,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “And earlier this month, the Justice Department announced strategies to stem the flow of firearms used to commit violence and support local law enforcement partners, including cracking down on firearms trafficking and the ‘iron pipeline’ – the illegal flow of guns sold in mostly southern states, transported up the East Coast, and found at crime scenes in cities like ours. Today’s sentencing demonstrates that we are aggressively engaged in doing this work; we are keeping our word to focus on getting the most dangerous criminals and firearms off the street.”
“ATF continues to work with our local, state, and federal partners to reduce violence in our communities,” said Matthew Varisco, Special Agent in charge of ATF’s Philadelphia Field Division. “Facilitating illicit transactions of firearms jeopardizes the safety of our citizens. These offenses will always be taken seriously and today the community is safer thanks to the outstanding work by our partners at the U.S Attorney’s Office.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
The case was investigated and charged by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Miller.
Greenville Man Sentenced to Prison for Gun Possession and Drug DistributionRead the Press Release
Oxford, MS – A Greenville man was sentenced on Friday to 9 years and 2 months in prison for selling illegal narcotics and for possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
According to court documents, Danny Thomas, 49, of Greenville, Mississippi, was charged in two separate indictments with one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and four counts of distribution of cocaine, as well as one count of possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Thomas plead guilty to one count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, one count of distribution of cocaine, and to possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense. U.S. District Court Judge Glen Davidson sentenced Thomas to a total of 110 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Thomas, who was detained pending trial, was remanded into custody of the U.S. Marshals following sentencing.
This office is committed to working alongside our local, state and federal partners to see that those individuals who commit gun crimes and distribute drugs in our communities are held accountable for their actions,” stated U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “Today’s sentence is one more step towards making our neighborhoods safer.”
Following the sentencing, FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha L. Fomby commented: “Drugs are one of the driving forces of violent crime. We will not relent in our efforts to make Mississippi a safer place for all who live in or visit our great State. This sentencing should serve as a reminder that the FBI, as well as our state and local partners, will bring violent criminals to justice.”
The FBI, Greenville Police Department, and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics investigated the case. The case was prosecuted by AUSA Robert Mims.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Georgia Man Admits Making Interstate Threats Against Executive Officer of New Jersey CompanyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Georgia man today admitted making interstate threats to an executive officer of a New Jersey based company, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Alan Wallace, 59, of Cumming, Georgia, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of transmitting interstate threats.
According to the documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From January 2021 to March 2021, Wallace, a former employee of Company-1, sent threatening email communications to Victim-1, an executive officer of Company-1, a publicly traded company with headquarters in New Jersey. Victim-1’s Company-1 email account received the emails every few days beginning on Jan. 11, 2021, and continuing through early March 2021, with more sporadic emails arriving thereafter. The emails were sent to Victim-1 from an anonymous email service.
The emails threatened violence to Victim-1 and to Victim-1’s family if Company-1’s stock did not exceed a certain share value within 30 days. An email received on Feb. 5, 2021, with the subject line “Blood Bath,” read: “[Victim-1], it seems you don't care about your family. This will be an absolute blood bath if stock isn't over $200 in 2 weeks. Your hurt [sic] so many, and now it is your turn to experience it.”
The interstate threats charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, including the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Torntore of the U.S. Attorney’s Cybercrime Unit in Newark.
Fruitland Man Sentenced to over 9 Years for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
BOISE – A Fruitland man was sentenced to 110 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm.
According to court records, on November 8, 2020, Israel Jacob Salinas, 38, pointed a loaded handgun at three individuals in a vehicle near his residence in Fruitland, Idaho. One of these three individuals was a minor. The victims exited their vehicle and began to run away. Salinas fired a shot in their direction, which they believed went over their heads. Salinas fled the scene, traveled to a rural location in Payette County, and buried the handgun in a canal. The firearm was eventually recovered by law enforcement.
Salinas is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior felony conviction for the distribution of methamphetamine. Salinas is a former gang member with a violent history, including a conviction for aiding and abetting assault resulting in serious bodily injury related to a prison stabbing.
Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Salinas to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Salians pleaded guilty to the federal firearm charge on October 20, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Payette County Sheriff’s Office, Fruitland Police Department, and the Payette County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which led to charges.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Franklin County Man Sentenced to 210 Months’ Imprisonment for Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Damion Phillip Gress, age 25, of Franklin County, was sentenced to 210 months’ imprisonment to be followed by 10 years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson for offenses involving the exploitation of minors.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Gress pleaded guilty to persuading and using a minor to produce images of child pornography between August 2015 and October 2016. Gress also produced images of child pornography in July 2016 involving a second victim. Gress also received images of child pornography and possessed thousands of images of child pornography on August 12, 2019.
Judge Wilson also ordered Gress to pay restitution in the amount of $54,000 to his victims.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Christian Haugsby prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
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Former Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Sentenced to 15 Years Imprisonment for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ga. – A Preston, Georgia, resident and former pediatric nurse practitioner (NP) was sentenced to serve 15 years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography in a case involving thousands of images and videos of child pornography.
William Clinton Storey, 42, of Preston, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Clay Land after he previously pleaded guilty to one count distribution of child pornography. In addition, Land ordered that Storey pay $67,000 in restitution to victims. Storey will register as a sex offender for life upon his release from federal prison under the Sex Offender Registration Act. There is no parole in the federal system.
“As a pediatric nurse practitioner, William Storey was charged with promoting the health and welfare of children. Instead, he chose to prey upon our most vulnerable citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Holding child predators accountable is one of the highest priorities of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We will use every resource available to bring justice to those who make, distribute and view child pornography.”
“The GBI will continue to work tirelessly to protect innocent victims of online exploitation. We are grateful for the partnerships we maintain with our local and federal agencies to bring these predators to justice,” said GBI Director Vic Reynolds.
According to court documents, the multimedia messaging app Snapchat detected that user clint31824 had uploaded five files of suspected child pornography while using their platform on November 21, 2019. GBI investigated the cybertip and traced the IP used by user clint31824 to the defendant, William Storey. At the time, Storey was employed as a certified family nurse practitioner. Agents executed search warrants at Storey’s home and business on February 18, 2020, seizing seven devices belonging to Storey. A forensic examination of the electronic media seized during the search warrant discovered approximately 6,000 videos and 24,000 images of suspected child pornography. The files contained depictions of babies, small toddlers, minors engaged in bondage, and male and female prepubescent children being sexually abused by adult males.
The case was investigated by the GBI with assistance from the FBI and the Webster County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Crawford Seals prosecuted the case.
Former Passaic County Man Admits Laundering Drug ProceedsRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A former Passaic County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a large international money laundering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Gilberto Martinez, 33, formerly of Clifton, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti to a criminal information charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In 2016 and 2017, Martinez laundered over $1 million in cash drug proceeds on behalf of a large-scale money laundering organization by purchasing, or directing others to purchase, cashier’s checks with the illegal drug proceeds. The checks were made payable to individuals and companies specified by the leaders of the money laundering organization. By converting the drug proceeds to cashier’s checks, Martinez and his conspirators tried to hide the source of the illegal cash and avoid scrutiny by law enforcement and banks.
The charge of money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount involved in the offense, whichever is greater. Sentencing is scheduled for June 24, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Susan A. Gibson and the Santo Domingo Country Office, under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Renita D. Foster; special agents and task force officers of IRS - Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael Montanez; the Morristown, New Jersey, police department, under the direction of Acting Police Chief Darnell Richardson; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Colonel Patrick J. Callahan; the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, led by Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin; and the Direccion Nacional de Control de Drogas (the Dominican Republic National Drug Directorate) with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan M. Peck of the Asset Recovery and Money Laundering Unit in Newark.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Former Member of New Bedford Latin Kings Chapter Sentenced for Racketeering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former member of the New Bedford Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) was sentenced today on racketeering charges.
Tyson Jorge, a/k/a “King Music,” 35, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to time served (approximately 35 days in prison). The government recommended a sentence of 21 months in prison.
On Aug. 25, 2021, Jorge pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy.
The Latin Kings are a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Latin Kings adhere to a national manifesto, employ an internal judiciary and use a sophisticated system of communication to maintain the hierarchy of the organization. As alleged in court documents, the gang uses drug distribution to generate revenue, and engages in violence against witnesses and rival gangs to further its influence and to protect its turf.
Jorge was involved in the New Bedford Latin Kings’ racketeering conspiracy and in the gang’s drug distribution efforts throughout the New Bedford. Jorge attended gang meetings in which violence against rival gang members was discussed. In December 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and firearms charges against 62 leaders, members and associates of the Latin Kings. Jorge is the 44th defendant to be sentenced in the case in the case.
The RICO conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction made the announcement. Valuable assistance was also provided by the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force and the Bristol County and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Former Logan County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Wiretapping ChargeRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A former Logan County resident pleaded guilty today to a federal wiretapping charge.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Randall Dwight Holden II, 33, admitted to secretly recording a video of a woman engaged in sexually explicit conduct in her Logan County home on November 25, 2017. The video was later uploaded to the internet without the victim’s knowledge. The video was one of several secretly recorded videos that Holden had created and posted online depicting the victim.
Holden is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2022 and he faces up to five years in prison.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:22-cr-00006.
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Former Hawaii State Legislators Plead Guilty to Honest Services Wire FraudRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – Jamie Kalani English, 55, of Hana, Maui, and Ty J.K. Cullen, 41, of Waipahu, Hawaii, pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Susan Oki Mollway to separate Informations charging each of them, respectively, with one count of honest services wire fraud. The Informations charge that English and Cullen accepted multiple bribes in return for performing, and agreeing to perform, official legislative acts on behalf of a Hawaii businessperson. Each defendant faces maximum penalties of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 at their sentencings, which are set before Judge Mollway on July 5, 2022.
Court documents and information provided in court detailed a series of bribes paid to English by a Hawaii businessperson, identified as “Person A” in the Information, over the course of several years. More recently, in June of 2019, English requested that Person A provide him with two hotel rooms in Las Vegas for his use while attending a concert. In return for the rooms, English later emailed Person A a draft legislative report concerning cesspools which could directly benefit Person A’s company. Also in June 2019, English asked Person A to “host” English and his family at a local Honolulu restaurant for dinner. Person A told English he could not attend, but provided $500 to English for the dinner, which English accepted.
In January 2020, English introduced into law a Senate bill involving cesspools that could directly benefit Person A’s company. In return, Person A paid English $1,000. On March 11, 2020, Person A met with English and offered him $10,000 in cash to kill the cesspool bill. English accepted the $10,000 stating “it’s easy to kill bills.” Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the bill did not advance.
In January 2021, English accepted another $5,000 from Person A in return for anticipated legislative assistance to Person A. During a subsequent law enforcement traffic stop, English hid the $5,000 under the vehicle’s floor mat.
Similarly, court documents and information provided in court detailed a series of bribes paid to Cullen over the course of several years by an individual also identified as “Person A” in the Information pertaining to Cullen. Cullen initially accepted casino chips in New Orleans from Person A and later supported legislation that would benefit Person A’s company. More recently, in September of 2019, Cullen accepted $5,000 from Person A for anticipated legislative assistance that would benefit Person A’s company. Cullen subsequently accepted payments in the amounts of $3,000 in December 2019, $5,000 in January 2020, and then $10,000 on March 10, 2020, $2,000 in June 2021 and $5,000 in October 2021. The payments Person A made to Cullen were for the purpose of influencing Cullen to support or manipulate legislation that would benefit Person A’s company.
On their annual mandatory gift disclosure reports, English and Cullen failed to report any of the bribes and gifts paid and given to him by Person A. As a part of their official gift disclosure submissions, English and Cullen emailed this false and misleading disclosure form, thereby using interstate commerce.
The investigation in the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Sorenson, Micah Smith and Michael Albanese of the District of Hawaii are prosecuting the case.
Former CFO of Boston Grand Prix Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Fraud and Tax Schemes that Netted Almost $2 MillionRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Boston Grand Prix was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with multiple schemes to defraud equipment and small business financing companies as well as the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Internal Revenue Service.
John F. Casey, 58, formerly of Ipswich, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to four years in prison and three years of supervised release. Casey was also ordered to pay $1,998,097 in restitution and ordered to forfeit $1,570,399. On Oct. 21, 2021, Casey pleaded guilty to 23 counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, four counts of money laundering and three counts of filing false tax returns.
Casey became the CFO of the Boston Grand Prix in January 2015. The Boston Grand Prix organization made payments to, or on behalf of, Casey totaling approximately $308,292 in 2015 and $601,073 in 2016 which Casey failed to include in the gross income he claimed on his personal tax returns for those years.
Casey also owned an ice rink in Peabody from October 2013 until he sold it in June 2016. Between October 2014 and October 2016, Casey obtained over $743,000 in funds from equipment financing companies, purportedly for the purchase of equipment for the ice rink, when in fact he no longer owned the rink for four months during this period. In addition, in August 2016, more than two months after he sold the Peabody rink, Casey obtained over $145,000 in small business loans for the rink business. In order to secure the financing, Casey submitted false documents and information including fake invoices for the equipment, bank records purporting to show deposits into Casey’s accounts related to the Peabody rink, inflated personal and corporate tax returns and personal financial statements falsely claiming ownership and value of various assets. Casey also submitted a fake Deed of Sale containing a forged signature in support of one of his loan applications. Relying on Casey’s false statements, the financing companies provided funding to Casey in amounts and on terms they otherwise would not have made. Most of the funds provided by the victim companies were never repaid.
In addition, between March 2020 and at least May 2021, Casey orchestrated a scheme to fraudulently obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Paycheck Protection Program loans from the SBA and a Massachusetts Sector-Specific Relief Grant – available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act – by submitting false applications for companies he created and controlled and by improperly using the fraudulently obtained loan and grant funds for personal expenses. Specifically, Casey submitted at least 14 loan applications to the SBA and intermediary lenders which contained false information concerning, among other things, the gross revenues of the companies during the year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average monthly payroll of the companies and the existence of some of the companies.
In the course of his pandemic assistance fraud, Casey stole the identities of two women and used their personal identifying information to file fraudulent applications. Finally, in January 2021, while awaiting trial for the financing fraud scheme, Casey submitted an application for a $70,000 pandemic-related relief grant to the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation containing false information about the operating expenses of a company that was not in business in 2019 or 2020. Between April 2020 and April 2021, approximately $676,552 in COVID-19 relief funds was deposited into bank accounts controlled by Casey, and he used the vast majority of the funds for personal expenses, including a three-carat diamond ring which was ordered forfeited, a six-month membership to Match.com, private school tuition, residential rent payments, living expenses, payments on personal credit card accounts, restaurant meals, car payments and luxury hotel stays.
Casey also laundered the proceeds of his fraud schemes and failed to include the income from the Peabody rink fraud scheme on his 2014, 2015 and 2016 personal federal tax returns.
United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay of Rollins’ Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.
On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
Florida Man Sentenced to Five Years for Soliciting Child PornographyRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Florida man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for soliciting child pornography, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.
Chief U.S. District Judge Jon D. Levy sentenced Cameron Eagle, 35, of Stuart, Florida, to five years in prison and five years of supervised release. Eagle pleaded guilty in September 2021.
According to court records, on May 9, 2020, while in Florida, Eagle used Cash App, a direct peer-to-peer payment system for mobile devices, to pay a female child in Maine to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he watched via livestream over the chat website Omegle. The child, who resided in Cumberland County, was 14 years old at the time. Financial records reflect that Eagle made several payments to the child on that date, and that he made other similar payments in small denominations to other Cash App accounts on the same day, as well as on other dates in May and June 2020.
The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, the Martin County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, with assistance from the Fort Pierce office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Florida Man Admits Role in $35 Million Pharmacy Compounded Medication SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A Palm City, Florida, man today admitted participating in a compounded medication kickback scheme that he and others ran out of a pharmacy in Clifton, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Anderson Triggs, 42, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
From 2014 through 2016, Triggs and his conspirators used Main Avenue Pharmacy, a mail-order pharmacy with a storefront in Clifton, New Jersey, to run a kickback scheme involving compounded drugs like scar creams, pain creams, migraine mediation, and vitamins. Compounded drugs are prescribed by a physician when an FDA-approved drug did not meet the health needs of a particular patient, such as when a dye or preservative triggers an allergic reaction, or when a patient can’t swallow an FDA-approved pill.
Triggs started as a consultant to Main Avenue Pharmacy and later became a board member of its corporate parent. The scheme revolved around identifying compounded drugs that would yield exorbitant reimbursements from health insurers, including both federal and commercial payers.
The physicians who signed prescriptions for compounded medications that were filled at Main Avenue frequently had never even spoken to the patients or examined them. Once the prescriptions were signed by a doctor, they would be returned to the marketing company, which would transmit the prescription to Main Avenue Pharmacy, which would fill them and submit claims to health care benefit programs for reimbursement
On compounded medications alone, Main Avenue received over $34 million in reimbursements from health care benefit programs, approximately $8 million of which was paid by federal payers. Triggs earned over $900,000 through the course of the scheme.
The charge of conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for June 21, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr. in Newark; the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty; and special agents of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Scott J. Lampert, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Senior Trial Counsel Jason S. Gould of the Health Care Fraud Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.
Final defendant in $10 million tobacco tax evasion scheme sentenced to prisonRead the Press Release
Seattle – The final player in a scheme to cheat Washington State out of more than $10 million in tobacco excise taxes was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 22 months in prison announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Tae Young Kim, 45, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was the registered owner of TK Mac, a company that owned and operated two smoke shops in Federal Way and Lynnwood, Washington. Together with Hyung Il Kwon, 48, of Henderson, Nevada, Kim devised fraudulent schemes to evade tobacco excise taxes, and Kim filed a false corporate tax return. In January 2019, Kim pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart said, “People need to understand this is a crime and it will be punished.”
“This scheme to cheat on state taxes lasted for years and robbed the people of millions in funding for state programs,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “The coconspirators used false documents to conceal their actions from regulators and law enforcement. Their deceit did more than cut their taxes, they obtained a competitive advantage over other tobacco retailers.”
According to records filed in the case, between 2009 and 2017, Kim, Kwon, and their coconspirators engaged in two schemes to defraud the state of tobacco excise taxes. The schemes involved two tribal smoke shops on the Puyallup reservation which sold significant quantities of tobacco products to TK Mac, the non-tribal tobacco distributor. Most of the sales were in cash, and TK Mac failed to report the purchases to the state, thus avoiding millions of dollars in excise taxes. When TK Mac then resold the products for cash, the company had a problem, since large deposits of cash would have triggered state scrutiny of its tobacco business. So, beginning in 2013 and continuing until 2017, Kim and his coconspirators engaged in a money-laundering scheme: the two tribal smoke shops wrote checks to TK Mac as if the tribal smoke shops had purchased tobacco products from the non-tribal store. In fact, TK Mac simply provided the tribal smoke shops with large amounts of cash equal to the checks. The purported transactions were a sham. In fact, no tobacco products changed hands, but TK Mac received an excise tax credit. As a result of these schemes, Washington State suffered losses of more than $10 million.
The president of the company that owns the tribal smoke shops, Anthony Edwin Paul, was sentenced in December 2021 to 14 months in prison, a $5,000 fine, and $1,764,818 in restitution. Paul’s subordinate, Theodore Kai Silva, who operated the scheme on behalf of the tribal smoke shops, was sentenced to four years of probation with six months of home confinement, plus $25,000 in restitution. Kim’s coconspirator and business partner Kwon was sentenced last month to 26 months in prison, a $10,000 fine and $5,098,249 in restitution to the Washington State Department of Revenue.
The government seized more than $5 million in assets and cash from Kwon and Kim. Today, Judge Robart ordered Kim to pay $4,339,407 in restitution to the Washington State Department of Revenue.
The case was investigated by IRS-CI, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jim Oesterle and Jonas Lerman
Final Defendant Sentenced for Mexican Timeshare Resale Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Juan Carlos Montalbo, 59, of San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced today to two years in prison for a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a timeshare fraud in Mexico, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, Montalbo, while working in the timeshare industry in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, would tell timeshare owners that he could guarantee the sale of their existing timeshare vacation rentals, often to pay for other timeshare products Montalbo was attempting to sell them. He and his coconspirators would guarantee the sales and would represent that buyers were already arranged who were ready to pay for the timeshares. In truth, no buyers had actually been arranged. Instead, other coconspirators would convince the victims of the fraud to wire additional money from bank accounts in the United States and Canada to bank accounts in Mexico for alleged up-front payments including taxes, fees, and commissions to make the sale of the timeshare occur. The conspirators would assure victims that the non-existent buyers had already deposited money into trust accounts and that the sellers’ up-front fees would be fully reimbursed from those funds after the sale was complete.
In November 2020, Judge Mendez sentenced co-defendant Wayne Arthur York II to five months’ time served, two years of supervised release, and to pay $449,980 in restitution to the victims of the scheme.
In March 2020, Judge Mendez sentenced co-defendant Marco Antonio Ramirez Zuno to two years’ time served and to pay $1,108,375 in restitution to the victims of the scheme.
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Morris prosecuted the case.
Federal Jury Convicts Mint Hill Man of Sexual Exploitation of A MinorRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal jury in Charlotte has convicted Brandon Grunwaldt, 46, of Mint Hill, N.C., of sexual exploitation of a minor, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Joseph Hatley of the Mint Hill Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents, trial evidence and witness testimony, between February 16 and October 31, 2020, Grunwaldt secretly recorded a minor on five different occasions while the minor was undressing and showering. A forensic analysis of electronic devices seized from Grunwaldt revealed that the defendant possessed five videos that depicted the minor using the shower and changing clothes. The jury convicted Grunwaldt of five counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Grunwaldt is currently in federal custody. A sentencing date has not been set. Each count of production of child pornography charge carries a minimum statutory sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a statutory penalty of no more than 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended HSI and the Mint Hill Police Department for their investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorneys Cortney Randall and Stephanie Spaugh, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Fayette County Man Pleads Guilty to Damaging Coal MineRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Fayette County man pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the destruction of an energy facility.
According to court documents, Earnest Wriston, 56, of Pax, pleaded guilty to damaging and stealing specialized equipment from a coal mine located across Boone and Lincoln counties.
Wriston pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the destruction of an energy facility. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 19, 2022 and faces up to five years in prison.
United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. presided over the hearing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Robeson is prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:21-cr-00269.
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FCI Schuylkill Inmate Sentenced to 10 Days’ Imprisonment for Possessing A CellphoneRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Mario Madrigal, age 29, an inmate at Federal Correctional Institute - Schuylkill (FCI Schuylkill), Minersville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States Magistrate Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr., to ten days’ imprisonment for possessing a prohibited object, namely a black Samsung cellphone.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Madrigal knowingly possessed a Samsung cellphone on or about September 4, 2021, within the FCI-Schuylkill facility. Federal law prohibits inmates from possessing cellphones due to the institutional security risks posed by their use.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Saporito also ordered that his sentence be served after completion of the 24-month sentence Madrigal is currently serving for violations of the Controlled Substances Act.
The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Assistant United States Attorney James M. Buchanan prosecuted the case.
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FBI Makes Arrest in Alleged Child Exploitation CaseRead the Press Release
On January 28, 2022, FBI Special Agents from the Jackson Field Office, together with Agents from the Memphis, Tennessee Field Office, arrested ANDREUS T. SHANNON in Dickson, Tennessee. Clay Joyner, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, and Jermicha Fomby, Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the FBI in Mississippi, stated that ANDREUS T. SHANNON, age 41, of Savannah, Tennessee, was arrested based on allegations made in a complaint filed in federal court by the FBI, following an investigation conducted by the FBI.
The complaint alleges that SHANNON was acting as a basketball coach when he allegedly transported a minor female that he coached across state lines between Mississippi and Tennessee to engage in sex acts. SHANNON is also accused of extorting and cyberstalking the same victim once she became an adult.
SHANNON made his initial appearance in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Columbia, Tennessee, on January 28, 2022, and was subsequently extradited to Oxford, Mississippi. On February 14, 2022, SHANNON appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, for a detention hearing. SHANNON was released on bond with a number of special conditions, including home confinement and electronic monitoring, pending further judicial proceedings.
Individuals with information concerning this investigation are encouraged to contact the FBI at 601/948-5000.
U.S. Attorney Joyner and SAC Fomby stressed that complaints and arrests are accusations only and there is a presumption of innocence prior to any judicial proceeding.
Essex County Man Admits Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey man today admitted using a web-based application to distribute multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.
Mauricio Calderon, 51, of Belleville, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Between March 2020 and April 10, 2020, Calderon used an encrypted, internet-based application to distribute multiple graphic videos depicting the sexual assault of minors. During the course of the investigation, Calderon publicly posted multiple videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, some of which featured infants and toddlers, in a chatroom and also sent links that redirected to web-pages containing child pornography. Law enforcement also discovered numerous videos and images of child sexual abuse on Calderon’s electronic devices when he was arrested at his home in September 2020.
The charge of distribution of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents with Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jason J. Molina, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shawn Barnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.
East Longmeadow Man Sentenced for Placing Firebomb at Entrance of Jewish Nursing Home and Lying to FBIRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An East Longmeadow man was sentenced today in federal court in Springfield for placing a lit firebomb at the entrance of a Longmeadow senior health care facility on April 2, 2020, and for lying to the FBI about his whereabouts on that day.
John Rathbun, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. As part of his supervised release, Judge Mastroianni ordered that Rathbun not enter the campus of the Longmeadow facility for any reason.
“Mr. Rathbun’s hate-filled and ruthless actions put the entire Longmeadow community at risk,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “Today’s sentence sends a powerful message that hate and bigotry have no place in Massachusetts. Everyone deserves to live free of fear and authentically and fully as themselves. My office will continue to support and work alongside the Jewish community with our law enforcement partners to investigate any acts of violence rooted in bias or hate.”
“There is no way to undo the damage John Rathbun did to the elderly residents of this Jewish assisted living facility, and to the entire community, with his hateful, repulsive, and violent behavior. But today’s sentence does hold him accountable for placing a lit firebomb in their path and for lying to us about it,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “Make no mistake, the FBI will use every investigative tool available, along with the expertise and skills of our partners on our Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force to identify, assess, and disrupt threats like this one in order to keep our communities safe.”
On June 15, 2021, Rathbun was convicted by a federal jury of one count of attempting to transport or receive explosive devices in interstate or foreign commerce with the knowledge or intent that the device will be used to kill, injure, or intimidate any individual or unlawfully to damage or destroy any building, vehicle or other real or personal property and one count of attempting to maliciously damage or destroy, by means of fire or an explosive, any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property used in interstate or foreign commerce.
On Nov. 13, 2020, Rathbun was convicted by another federal jury of lying to the FBI by claiming that he had not left his house on April 2, 2020.
On the morning of April 2, 2020, Rathbun assembled, placed, and lit a homemade firebomb at the driveway entrance of Jewish Geriatric Services Lifecare, Inc., a Jewish nursing home complex in Longmeadow. The device consisted of a five-gallon Scepter fuel canister filled with gasoline and a partially charred wick comprised of pages from a Christian religious pamphlet. Forensic analysis identified Rathbun’s DNA on the canister and pamphlet.
On April 15, 2020, Rathbun falsely stated to a federal agent that he was at home on April 2, that he was not familiar with the location on Converse Street where the device was placed and that he had not possessed or even seen the fuel canister.
U.S. Attorney Rollins; Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and FBI SAC Bonavolonta made the announcement today. The investigation was led by the FBI’s Western Massachusetts Joint Terrorism Task Force with valuable assistance also provided by the Longmeadow and East Longmeadow Police Departments and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neil L. Desroches and Steven H. Breslow of Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case, along with Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Risa Berkower.
Drug Dealer Sentenced to over Ten Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
Ocala, FL – United States District Judge John Antoon II has sentenced Tralvaster Epps (34, Ocala) to 10 years and 2 months in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana and for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Epps had pleaded guilty on November 18, 2021.
According to court documents, on July 22, 2020, officers from the Ocala Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a stolen Jeep that Epps was driving. Officers recovered approximately 140 grams of cocaine, a loaded firearm, nearly $12,000 in cash, and three cellphones from the vehicle. After his arrest, Epps made multiple phone calls from jail ordering family members to move multiple bags containing narcotics. Agents from the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team, a drug task force, located and confiscated the bags. After receiving a search warrant for the contents of the bags, the agents found approximately 775 grams of fentanyl, 530 grams of methamphetamine, 440 grams of cocaine, 620 grams of marijuana, large amounts of various pills, drug paraphernalia, and approximately $51,000 in cash.
This case was investigated by the Ocala Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tyrie Boyer.
Disgraced former attorney sentenced to nearly six years in prison for litigation advance fraud schemeRead the Press Release
ATLANTA - Chalmer “Chuck” Detling, II, a disbarred attorney, has been sentenced to prison after being convicted by a jury of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Without their knowledge or authorization, Detling used his clients’ identities—sometimes repeatedly—to obtain dozens of fraudulent litigation advances, totaling over $400,000.
“Detling betrayed the trust of his clients, business associates, friends, and family, all to steal money,” said U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “This tough but fair sentence should remind those considering similar behavior about the consequences of those decisions, especially licensed professionals who are considering exploiting their clients in a time of need.”
“Detling violated the trust of the clients that hired him and used his position as an attorney not to pursue justice, but to pursue a fraud scheme for personal gain,” said Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Because of his self-interest and greed he has not only thrown away his career, but will spend time in prison for his crimes.”
According to U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges and other information presented in court: Detling was the owner and operator of the Detling Law Group (which later changed its name to Detling Cole LLC), a personal injury law firm based in Marietta, Georgia. While running his law firm, Detling obtained fraudulent “litigation advances” in the names of his clients, without their knowledge or consent, from financing companies. These litigation advances—essentially high interest non-recourse loans—are intended for personal injury plaintiffs to cover non-litigation related expenses (e.g., living and medical expenses) while their cases are pending. In exchange for a litigation advance, the plaintiff agrees to repay the money received plus interest when his or her case settles or ends favorably at a trial. Because these are high interest advances, plaintiffs typically seek them out only as a matter of last resort.
From October 2014 to April 2016, Detling applied for and received dozens of fraudulent litigation advances, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Detling submitted applications that were purportedly signed and executed by his respective clients, but Detling knew when he submitted the agreement paperwork that the clients had not actually executed the agreements. He did so even after several clients expressly told him they did not need or want such financing. Detling was able to conceal from his clients that he had obtained the fraudulent advances by having the funds wired or deposited into his law firm’s Interest on Lawyer Trust Account (“IOLTA”) accounts.
Detling was able to secure these fraudulent litigation advances without his clients’ knowledge in part because the financing companies did not require the clients to be present when applying for the litigation advances or receiving the disbursements. He further concealed the fraud from the financing companies by exploiting the trust they placed in him as an attorney, by stringing them along with lies about the status of his clients’ cases and the possibility of future repayment. Detling also executed the scheme in part by submitting forged documents to the financing companies, including a doctored offer letter from an insurance company in which he claimed they offered $250,000 when in fact they offered $2,000 to settle a case.
While Detling was defrauding the financing entities, he was already subject of multiple investigations by the State Bar of Georgia (“Georgia Bar”) involving professional misconduct, including into his alleged mismanagement of client funds and settling of cases without client authority. Detling’s scheme ultimately unraveled when the Georgia Bar received an anonymous note in early May 2016 notifying it about a subset of the fraudulent litigation advances. Shortly after receiving this information, the Georgia Bar alerted the financing companies, Detling’s clients, and the FBI of the apparent fraud. Nonetheless, when subsequently deposed by the Georgia Bar, Detling repeatedly lied under oath about his knowledge and involvement with the fraudulently obtained litigation advances.
As a result of the Georgia Bar’s investigations, on September 1, 2016, the Georgia Supreme Court issued an emergency suspension of Detling’s law license. On October 30, 2016, the Court accepted Detling’s petition to voluntarily surrender his law license, characterizing it as “tantamount to disbarment.” Detling is no longer licensed to practice law in Georgia or elsewhere.
Chalmer “Chuck” Detling, II, 45, of Marietta, Georgia, was sentenced on February 10, 2022, by U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May to five years and ten months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $254,837.89. He was originally charged by a federal grand jury in August 2018 with multiple counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Following an eight-day trial, a jury convicted Detling of four counts of wire fraud and five counts of aggravated identity theft on November 1, 2021.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the State Bar of Georgia.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex R. Sistla and Samir Kaushal prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Cumberland County Man Charged with Health Care Fraud, Money Laundering, and Theft of Public MoneyRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Rodney L. Yentzer, age 52, of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania was charged in a criminal information with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count of theft of public money for defrauding Medicare and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services between 2016 and 2020.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, the information alleges that Yentzer agreed with others to defraud Medicare by submitting bill for medically unnecessary urine drug tests for chronic opioid patients at medical clinics he controlled, including a group of clinics known as Pain Medicine of York or “PMY” (also known as All Better Wellness).
It is alleged that PMY billed Medicare for more than $10 million in urine drug tests from mid-2017 through the end of 2019. As a result, Medicare paid out over $4 million for these urine drug tests. Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program was also billed for urine drug tests during this same time period. The urine drug tests ordered by PMY were sent to an in-house laboratory at PMY whenever possible. As a result, when medically unnecessary tests were billed to Medicare, the proceeds from them went to PMY itself.
The information also alleges that Yentzer received over $191,000 in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stimulus money that was intended for health care providers who had health care related expenses and lost revenues attributable to COVID-19. Yentzer obtained these funds in April 2020, even though he had resigned from PMY the prior month and PMY had been closed since late 2019. Yentzer allegedly used these funds on various things unrelated to COVID-19 relief, including personal expenses.
Search warrants were executed at PMY’s various locations in November 2019, and PMY ceased operations soon thereafter.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Smultkis are prosecuting the case.
The maximum penalty under federal law for conspiracy to commit health care fraud is 10 years’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty law for conspiracy to commit money laundering is 20 years’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty law for theft of public money is 10 years’ imprisonment. These charges may also carry a fine and a term of supervised release following imprisonment. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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Court Sentences Key Member of Local Drug Trafficking Organization to 22 Years Imprisonment for Fentanyl and Heroin TraffickingRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL-- On February 10, 2022, United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Edwin Jerome Owens, aka “EJ”, from Grand Bay, Alabama to 264 months imprisonment for his role in a local Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). The 36 year old Owens pled guilty in July, 2021 to conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Following his release from prison, Owens will be supervised by a United States Probation Officer for five years. The judge did not impose a fine, but ordered that Owens pay $100 in special assessments. Owens was a member of the “Crossley Hill” DTO, and was among 42 people originally charged with offenses to include conspiracy to distribute and distribution of the drugs heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine. Further investigation led to the indictments of additional defendants connected to the DTO.
Documents filed in connection with his guilty plea and testimony at his sentencing hearing established that in approximately 2019 and 2020, Owens conspired with numerous other persons to distribute heroin. Some of the heroin sold by Owens contained fentanyl. During the conspiracy Owens made numerous trips to the New Orleans area and Biloxi to obtain heroin and fentanyl from his sources of supply in New Orleans. Owens also brought human heroin testers along with him on a number of trips to use and thereby test the heroin for quality. In all, the court found that Owens was responsible for more than 1.2 kilograms of heroin and more than 700 grams of fentanyl for sentencing purposes. Testimony at the sentencing established that fentanyl is a very powerful, and potentially deadly, drug that is often used in one tenth of a gram quantities, or less, because it is so powerful.
The Court also held Owens responsible for being an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants, which provided for a greater advisory sentence under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The investigation and prosecution of this case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Mobile Police Department and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Baldwin County Drug Task Force, and the Saraland Police Department also provided key investigative support to the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys George F. May and Luis F. Peral (Lead Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Attorney).Council Bluffs Man Sentenced for Child Pornography OffenseRead the Press Release
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Brian Allen Christensen, age 34, of Council Bluffs, was sentenced on February 14, 2022, to 120 months in prison for Receipt of Child Pornography. His term of imprisonment will be followed by five years of supervised release. According to court documents Christensen was found guilty by a trial jury on September 21, 2021.
In 2018 the Nebraska State Patrol conducted an undercover operation and identified a computer in Council Bluffs that shared images and videos using the Peer-2-Peer program. Iowa Internet Crimes against Children took over the investigation and found evidence Christensen had regularly searched for child pornography as early as February 2013.
United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Nebraska State Patrol, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Internet Crimes Against Children section investigated the case. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of Iowa.
Columbus man pleads guilty to threatening local reproductive health services facilityRead the Press Release
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man pleaded guilty in federal court this morning to threatening to bring a bomb to a local reproductive health services facility.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Brime, 25, also admitted to threatening to kill a patient whom he believed was seeking reproductive health services, specifically an abortion, at the clinic.
On April 11, 2021, Brime made two separate telephone calls to the local reproductive health care clinic. In the first, he made a death threat relating to the prospective patient and in the second, he made a bomb threat directly to the clinic, telling the clinic staff “my organization will be bringing a bomb to your facility. I suggest you close your doors.”
Specifically, Brime admitted to violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act – which makes it a federal crime to threaten the use of force to intimidate anyone receiving or providing reproductive health services – and to transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Threatening freedom of access to clinic entrances is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison and transmitting threats in interstate commerce carries a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
Brime was indicted by a grand jury and arrested in September 2021. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice; J. William Rivers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and S. Courter Shimeall and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel are representing the United States in this case.
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Columbus Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Local Reproductive Health Services FacilityRead the Press Release
A Columbus, Ohio, man pleaded guilty in federal court this morning for making threats to a local reproductive health services facility.
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Brime, 25, admitted to threatening to kill a patient who indicated she planned to get an abortion at the clinic, and for threatening to bring a bomb to the clinic.
Brime made two separate telephone threats on April 11, 2021, to a local reproductive health care clinic.
During the first call, he told clinic staff, “My girlfriend is a patient there and I’m going to bring the heat. If she kills my baby, I’m going to kill her.” A short time later, he called the clinic again and said, “My organization will be bringing a bomb to your facility. I suggest you close your doors.”
Brime admitted to violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act – which makes it a federal crime to threaten the use of force to intimidate anyone receiving or providing reproductive health services – and to transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.
Threatening freedom of access to clinic entrances is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison and transmitting threats in interstate commerce carries a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison. Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
“People should be able to freely access clinics that provide reproductive health services, free from violence and threats of violence,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This defendant threatened to kill a woman because she was seeking reproductive health services and further threatened to bomb the clinic providing those services. This conviction should send a strong message that the Justice Department will hold accountable those who would resort to violence and threats of violence to deny people access to reproductive health clinics in our country.”
Brime was indicted by a grand jury and arrested in September 2021. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio; Special Agent in Charge William Rivers of the FBI Cincinnati Division; and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the plea entered into today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and S. Courter Shimeall and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel are representing the United States in this case.
Coalport Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawfully Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A former resident of Clearfield County pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Kenneth Selvage, 61, of Coalport, PA, pleaded guilty to Count One of the Indictment before United States District Judge Stephanie Haines.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from on or about January 24, 2020, to on or about January 25, 2020, Selvage was found in possession of a Mossberg .20-gauge shotgun and ten shells of ammunition. On June 16, 1999, Selvage was convicted in the Court of Common Pleas of Cambria County, Pennsylvania, of Escape, which is a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Federal law prohibits persons who have been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year from possessing firearms.
Judge Haines scheduled sentencing for June 29, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Pennsylvania State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Selvage.
Charleston Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Multi-State Methamphetamine ConspiracyRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A Charleston woman pleaded guilty today to a federal drug crime.
According to court documents and statements made in court, during the summer of 2021, Angie Lane Harbour, 40, was a drug courier in a multi-state methamphetamine distribution organization operating in and around Charleston. Harbour acted as a driver for members of the organization both locally and during resupply trips out-of-state. On August 4, 2021, Harbour and two co-conspirators were returning from a resupply trip to Columbus, Ohio when they were stopped by police in Cross Lanes. Police seized approximately one pound of methamphetamine from the vehicle.
Harbour is one of seventeen defendants charged as a result of this investigation. James Edward Bennett and Denise Marie Cottrill are scheduled to plead guilty on February 22, 2022. Brian Dangelo Terry and Jason Robert Oxley are scheduled to plead guilty on March 14, 2022.
Harbour pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and faces up to 20 years in federal prison when she is sentenced on May 16, 2022.
United States Attorney William S. Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Charleston Police Department, the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team (MDENT).
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the plea hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks is handling the prosecution.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 2:21-cr-172, 2:21-cr-171, and 2:21-cr-211.
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Career Offender Sentenced for String of Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Upper Marlboro, Maryland, man was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for committing five armed robberies across Northern Virginia and Maryland.
According to court documents, between January 24, 2021, and March 13, 2021, Jon Karl Mcree Fleet, 62, robbed a Macy’s Store in Springfield; a McDonald’s restaurant in Alexandria; a Subway restaurant in Largo, Maryland; a Papa John’s restaurant in Falls Church; and a Domino’s restaurant in McLean. During each robbery, Fleet brandished a firearm in the presence of employees and demanded money from them. Fleet used a short-barreled shotgun while committing the Domino’s robbery. At the time of the robberies, Fleet was a convicted felon, having previously been convicted for armed robberies, and was thus prohibited from possessing a firearm. Fleet’s lengthy and violent criminal history qualifies him as a “Career Offender.”
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; Michael L. Brown, Alexandria Chief of Police; Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Malik Aziz, Chief of Prince George’s County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cristina Stam and Bibeane Metsch prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:21-cr-192.
California Man Sentenced to Prison for Series of Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
LAS VEGAS – A California man was sentenced today to 13 years and six months in prison for committing four armed robberies (including two banks and the same Starbucks coffeehouse twice), stealing more than $14,000.
In May 2021, a jury convicted Shamariae Marshon Jones (25), of Pasadena, California, of one count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery, two counts of bank robbery, and one count of brandishing a firearm in a crime of violence. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon sentenced Jones to three years of supervised release.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the five-day trial, between December 2016 and January 2017, Jones and co-conspirator Edwin Arnold Jr. robbed two banks and a Starbucks coffeehouse, stealing a total of $14,280. During each robbery, Arnold brandished a handgun at employees, demanded money, and threatened to shoot if they did not comply. On January 26, 2017, the FBI's Criminal Apprehension Team arrested Jones and Arnold when the two drove back to Arnold's residence immediately after committing their latest robbery.
Arnold was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, one count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery, two counts of interference with commerce by robbery, two counts of bank robbery, and four counts of brandishing a firearm in a crime of violence. In January 2022, he was sentenced to 29 years in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse for the FBI made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison Reese prosecuted the case.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a nationwide program by the Department of Justice that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, the Department announced the reinvigoration of PSN. For more information about PSN, visit www.justice.gov/usao-nv.
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